This morning I noticed that the long-under-construction new ticket vending machine center at Grand Central Terminal is now open for business. It was due to open in September 2013 so it’s a little early.

This new ticket vending machine center is just west of the staffed ticket windows. If you are facing the staffed ticket windows, turn right and walk under the arch.

]]>http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2013/08/new-ticket-vending-machine-center-opens-grand-central-terminal/feed/1Two New Metrocards – Grand Central Centennial Mercury and Resorts World Casinohttp://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2013/08/new-metrocards-grand-central-centennial-mercury-resorts-world-casino/
http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2013/08/new-metrocards-grand-central-centennial-mercury-resorts-world-casino/#commentsThu, 08 Aug 2013 13:08:46 +0000http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/?p=1482After a months long drought, I found two new Metrocards in the last two days. Both Metrocards were on the ground near Metrocard readers so I don’t know if/where they are for sale. The Grand Central Metrocard seems to have been announced months ago so I’m no sure if it is even still for sale. The Resorts World Casino Metrocard seems to be brand new.

In April 2013 Martz Trailways began Curbside Express Bus Service to New York City. The fare for this bus service is $25 round-trip, which is a significant discount off of the normal round-trip price. Martz offers this service from both Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, though, at least for now, the buses only run on certain days of the week. The separate buses from Scranton and Wilkes-Barre each make several stops within their respective departure cities, beginning at 7:00 AM.

The benefits of this new service are:

$25 round-trip fare (very cheap!)

Express to NYC – no stops after Scranton or Wilkes-Barre

This new bus service is similar to the “Chinatown” bus service model that is prevalent in Manhattan. Buses pick-up and drop-off at the curb, instead of at a formal bus terminal, thereby saving money from the fees normally paid to the owner of the bus terminal. Normal midtown-New York bound Martz buses call at the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 40th Street and Eighth Avenue. But the new Martz Curbside Express Buses will both drop-off and pick-up in the vicinity of 48th Street and 6th Avenue. That location is convenient to Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, and many subway lines.

NOTE: You MUST return on the same day, on the exact bus specified, to use the second half of your $25 round-trip ticket. The current schedule has the same-day return buses departing 48th Street and 6th Avenue at 7:00 PM.

For all the details on the new Martz Trailways Curbside Express Bus Service to New York City and to purchase e-tickets, please click on the following link:

I was hoping that that one of the discount bus services, such as Megabus or Bolt Bus, would begin service to Scranton. That hasn’t happened yet, but this new Martz Trailways Curbside Express Bus Service is pretty much the next best thing and I applaud Martz Trailways for offering it.

]]>http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2013/04/martz-trailways-adds-curbside-express-bus-service-to-new-york-city/feed/1Only 21 Minutes until the next train leaves on Track 4http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2013/01/only-21-minutes-until-next-train-leaves-track-4-shuttle/
http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2013/01/only-21-minutes-until-next-train-leaves-track-4-shuttle/#commentsWed, 30 Jan 2013 13:24:23 +0000http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/?p=1456The “Countdown Clocks” in the NYC Subway system have proven to be very useful. The MTA and NYCT should be commended for this. Occasionally, though, the Countdown Clocks provide a little unintentional humor.

Countdown Clock at Grand Central-42 St

This morning at the Grand Central-42 St station of the 42 St Shuttle, the Countdown Clock was displaying the fact that the next train to depart from Track 4 would do so in 21 minutes. There’s probably nothing technically wrong with that. The train on Track 4 only usually operates during peak times. It wasn’t yet in-service when I took this photo, and it very likely was going to go into service in 21 minutes. But the information is not terribly useful to riders. When it’s closer to departure time, say less than 5 minutes (basically one interval, more or less), then it probably makes sense to start displaying the information. If the doors are closed and the interior lights are turned off, most people will know that the train is not in service and to wait for a train on the track that is listed on the Countdown Clock.

]]>http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2013/01/only-21-minutes-until-next-train-leaves-track-4-shuttle/feed/1Another new metrocard with advertisement on the front is releasedhttp://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2012/12/another-new-metrocard-advertisement-on-front-released/
http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2012/12/another-new-metrocard-advertisement-on-front-released/#commentsWed, 26 Dec 2012 14:06:34 +0000http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/?p=1448Within the past few weeks, another metrocard with advertising on both sides was released. The ad is for Audible.com. A scan of both sides of this metrocard is below.

Audible.com 2012 metrocard

]]>http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2012/12/another-new-metrocard-advertisement-on-front-released/feed/0New metrocard with advertisement on the front is releasedhttp://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2012/10/new-metrocard-advertisement-front-side/
http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2012/10/new-metrocard-advertisement-front-side/#commentsThu, 04 Oct 2012 17:07:50 +0000http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/?p=1430MTA/NYCT announced in July that they would allow advertising on the front side of Metrocards, in additional to the traditional placement on the back side of the cards. A new webpage was created to describe the Metrocard options available to advertisers.

Now, what appears to be the first Metrocard to feature both front and back side advertising has been released and is available for purchase. The new Metrocard features an advertisement for the clothing store GAP. The front side says “Be Bright NYC” and encourages visiting the newest flagship GAP store, which is located at 34th Street and Broadway. The back side of the Metrocard contains a coupon for 20% off your purchase at any GAP store between October 1, 2012 and November 18, 2012. The offer is not valid online.

Note: There is a URL on the back of the Metrocard that, as of early this afternoon (Thursday, October 4, 2012), does not seem to be working. The URL is: http://www.gap.us/gapheraldsq

Below is a scan of the front and back sides of this new Metrocard.

]]>http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2012/10/new-metrocard-advertisement-front-side/feed/01950s Photos from NYC Metro Areahttp://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2012/02/1950s-photos-nyc-metro-area/
http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2012/02/1950s-photos-nyc-metro-area/#commentsMon, 27 Feb 2012 17:24:53 +0000http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/?p=1404I came across a collection of photos from the 1950s that shows railroad scenes in New York City and the surrounding areas. Many of these photos are very interesting.

]]>http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2012/02/1950s-photos-nyc-metro-area/feed/1Photo of the United States Capitol subway systemhttp://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2012/02/photo-of-the-united-states-capitol-subway-system/
http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/2012/02/photo-of-the-united-states-capitol-subway-system/#commentsSun, 26 Feb 2012 23:18:12 +0000http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/?p=1395A photo of the rarely photographed United States Capitol subway system showed up in the New York Times recently.

Representative Bob Turner riding the Capitol subway this month. -- Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times

And as a result of this incident, NYCT is reporting that the 1 train is suspended between Chambers St and South Ferry.

mta.info service alert for suspended (1)

Edit: as per NotifyNYC — Notification issued 2/16/12 at 11:10 AM. 1 train service has been restored between Chambers Street and South Ferry (MN). Expect residual delays and continued emergency service activity near the World Trade Center.